Wayne Rooney has criticised Lisandro Martinez for his 'horrendous' mistake in Chelsea's opening goal in their 2-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. The defeat left United nine games without a win.
Martinez was sent off midway through the second half, minutes after being booked for raising his elbow and catching Wesley Fofana while defending a corner. The Argentina international has faced widespread criticism for the incident, which came weeks after he publicly criticised the club following their Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Rooney's verdict on the opener
While Rooney was among those unimpressed with Martinez's conduct for the sending off, the former United captain was equally appalled by his part in Chelsea's first goal. Morgan Rogers drove through United's midfield and defence, with Andrey Santos, Harry Maguire and Martinez all failing to stop him.
Rooney criticised the former Ajax player for his weak attempts to deal with Rogers' run and insisted Chelsea's opening goal sparked United's downfall.
'The first goal for me was a killer for everyone,' Rooney told The United Stand. 'Rogers picks the ball up and just runs in a straight line. Yoro is out of position which can happen because there was a turnover. Maguire does the right thing initially but the closer Rogers gets, he has to get him and leave him out wide.'
'And then Martinez comes across – his attempt at a tackle is horrendous, you wouldn't want school boys doing that. He goes in and just touches Rogers, he doesn't put any force into it, that's where you put your body across and try knock him. He just waves his arm at him and lets him go through. That goal was horrendous.'
Carrick backs Martinez
United return to action against Roma in the Champions League tonight, with Michael Carrick insisting this week he has no concerns over Martinez's commitment.
'I've got no concerns about commitment at all,' Carrick told a news conference on Tuesday. 'The dressing room is a good, good place. I've said it before, the commitment of the players to the club, to me, to each other is I don't question that at all. We need to play better, we can make better decisions, but commitment's not a thing at all.'
